Financial Goals for April Made!

I haven't been around blog-land much lately, but it's because I have been working my tush off the last few days! It has all been worth it however, I not only hit my goal, but exceeded it! The best part of it is that all my extra jobs paid extremely promptly, which meant that I had been paid by all the different jobs by Saturday. Yes, I know that was technically May, but since the work was done in April, I am counting it towards last month.

The other good thing was that even though I worked quite a few hours, I still had some down time. Saturday I luxuriated in having a whole afternoon of beautiful spring weather to work out in the garden. I was fortunate again to get some free plants, so those all went in the garden. My mother received an Easter lily from her church and gave me the plant after it bloomed. I have a whole section of my yard that is devoted to mixed lilies, so that will fit right in. Then, my friend who works at a local public garden also came through with some free tulip bulbs. The gardens had forced the bulbs for their April displays and once they are done blooming, they get offered to employees. My friend snagged several pots for friends and I lucked out by getting two pots of bulbs. One had six red tulip bulbs and the other is "mystery color." (The petals were long gone, so I won't know what color they are until they bloom.) One thing I have noticed when planting forced bulbs like this, is that it sometimes takes two, or even three years, before they start blooming again. I have a garden bed I filled with tulips she gave me three years ago and this was the first year I got to really see them bloom. So, even though I got free plants, it may be awhile before they bloom for me.

Speaking of planting, that isn't the only bit of gardening I have on my plate...

Almost every year I put in an herb garden, but this year I am also going to try and grow some veggies. My friend Catie is doing the same, so she gave me some of her extra seeds. I planted them in growing medium in egg cartons and I am kind of excited to see how they do. To be honest, I haven't had a whole lot of luck with starting plants from seeds in the past, but I am always willing to give it another try. I have lettuce and cucumber seedlings started in the window already, with all sorts of other seeds planted and (hopefully) going to be sprouting soon.

For anything that doesn't take off in my garden, our local Farmer's market opened up this weekend. Of course, this time of year they mostly have plants, flowers, arts & crafts and baked goods, but give it a few weeks and the veggies will start appearing one by one until the tables are laden with summer produce. I can't wait! I really try to eat seasonal, local produce, but this year I didn't do so well in stocking up for the cold months. I am starving for some fresh spring salads and some Michigan strawberries!





Photo of tomato seedlings by: minervah